Women Scorned
by PrairieLily
Summary: The team, what’s left of it anyway, must find Ducky and Gibbs, when they mysteriously disappear after an extended coffee break. 9 Chapters, daily updates. 9 of 9 posted... COMPLETE! McAbby, TonyFaith mentioned. Good one for Palmer and McGee fans as wel
1. The Stage is Set

**Title: Women Scorned**

**Rating**: T, for language, though nothing we don't hear on the show.

**Disclaimer**: Mostly not my characters. Jasmine McGee and Caitlin McGee are my creation, and I don't knowwhat Gibbs' ex-wives names are supposed to be, so I faked it for one of them. :)

**Summary**: The team – what's left of it anyway – must find Ducky and Gibbs, when they mysteriously disappear after an extended coffee break.

**Pairing:** McAbby for sure, Tony and Faith Coleman are mentioned.

**Author's Note:** I may be posting more than one chapter a day depending on the chapter, since a couple of them are obscenely short.

* * *

**Chapter 1 - The Stage is Set**

The woman behind the coffee shop bar glanced over as two men entered the establishment. Her icy glare followed them as they found a table and sat down.

Jethro.

That bastard.

And who was that with him? An older man, glasses… 60's or 70's, she really couldn't tell from where she was. He looked vaguely familiar… but she just couldn't place him.

She flipped her long red hair and turned her attention to two customers.

"Guess who just walked in," she said, motioning with her eyes. The two red-haired women sitting at the other side of the bar turned their heads slightly to look at where their glances were being directed.

"That bastard," they muttered.

"Well, that plan we talked about, girls. Was that just so much red wine talking, or should we actually do it?"

"When opportunity knocks," one of them pointed out.

"What about Ducky?" one of them asked. "Ducky never did anything to piss us off," she pointed out, almost regretfully.

The one behind the bar sighed. So that's who that was. God, he'd changed over the years, she hardly recognized him. "Collateral damage, girls. We'll be gentle with Ducky. Let's go."

……………………………………………………………………

Abby was going stir-crazy at home. Maternity leave was up next week, and for as much as she loved her daughter, she missed her lab terribly. Tim had tried to comfort her, ease her restlessness, even going so far as to bring work home with him for her to help with.

But it just wasn't the same.

Tim, in the meantime, was still at work. He and Tony were wrapping up a case that had taken many hours of grunt work, and they weren't sad to see the end of it nearing. Ziva had stopped by many times, bearing Caf Pow, and had stayed awhile, to help with little Caitlin - always on the pretense of getting forensic advice, of course. Abby was always grateful for the company, and loved showing off her baby girl. Ziva tried to pretend otherwise, but Abby always thought she looked damned good and natural with a baby in her arms.

Even Jimmy had stopped by on occasion, with Jasmine - his fiancee, and Tim's younger sister. Judging by how enamoured he was with Caitlin, Abby knew he'd be royally hooped if he and Jaz ever had kids of their own… more specifically, if there happened to be a little girl in the family mix.

But, in spite of the team's efforts to make her feel included, and not left alone and forgotten at home, it would be wonderful to get back to work again.


	2. Oblivious

**Chapter 2 - Oblivious**

"Shouldn't Gibbs be back by now?" Tim asked, looking over at Tony. Ziva looked over at her two colleagues, and glanced at the clock. "It's been an awfully long coffee break, hasn't it boys?" Tony frowned. He had been so engrossed in wrapping up the final details of the case that never ends, that he'd completely lost track of time. He was about to say something, when his phone rang.

"Special Agent DiNozzo," he answered cordially.

"Tony, Dr. Mallard wouldn't be up there, would he?" Jimmy Palmer sounded like he was beginning to border on worried.

"No, Jimmy. He's not. Why?"

"He left with Agent Gibbs on a coffee break. But that was three hours ago. It isn't like him to be gone this long."

Tony sighed. "Ducky's been gone three hours and you're just now telling us?" He could almost hear the eyeroll on the other end of the line. "I was caught up in work down here. You try doing an autopsy without giving it your undivided attention," Jimmy retorted, defensively. Tony shook his head and sighed again. "Right," he conceded, with an apologetic tone. "Fair enough. Well… we kinda lost track of time up here too. I'll check into it, Jimmy. I'll let you know, okay."

The voice on the other end of the line seemed slightly relieved. "Thank you, Tony." Tony hung up his phone, and sighed.

"That was Jimmy. Ducky's UA too, it seems."

"Did he leave with Gibbs?" Tim asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Yeah," Tony answered. "Jimmy said they left together. Three hours ago. Have we really been so wrapped up in this case that three hours flew by and we didn't even notice?"

Tim and Ziva shared a look, then glanced back to Tony and shrugged. "Looks like it," Ziva said.

"McGee, you call Gibbs. I'll try to raise Ducky."

……………………………………………………………………

Abby had a stroke of genius.

She knew that Caitlin already had Gibbs wrapped around her finger. He'd be an easy sell. She'd have to avoid Shepard, but if worse came to worse, she'd think of something.

Anyway, it had been far too long since either Ducky or Gibbs had seen Caitlin, and she knew how much Tim missed his little Princess when he was at work. And Tony could really use the practice, with Faith ready to go into labour at any moment. Ziva had been there just that morning, and Abby wasn't convinced yet that she'd quite had her recommended daily allowance of Baby Girl.

Yeah. "Lesson number one in the art of being a woman, Baby Girl. We can justify pretty much anything if we really want to."

She smiled broadly at her daughter. "Come on, Caitlin, let's go surprise your Daddy! And Uncle Tony, and Auntie Ziva, and Uncle Gibbs, and Uncle Ducky, and Uncle Jimmy, and you have to have your sweetest face on, in case we run into Madame Director."

Caitlin cooed and waved her arms, green eyes bright, as Abby tucked her into the car seat.

Abby grinned to herself as she pulled out of the driveway. Why hadn't she thought of this sooner?


	3. Familiar Surroundings

**Chapter 3 – Familiar Surroundings**

"Bloody hell," Ducky moaned, from inside the cramped closet space. The doctor was slowly regaining consciousness, and he dearly wished he wasn't.

Gibbs was busy sniffing the air for clues, trying to think clearly through the haze of pain in his throbbing head.

Something was hinky.

Something was very very familiar about that smell.

"Damnit," he swore. "Duck, I know that scent. It's the one that…"

"Ex-wife number two always used to wear. I recognize it now, Jethro. What in God's name did you do to that woman to piss her off so completely?"

"I remind you, Ducky. She left me. Not the other way around."

"And not just piss her off, Jethro, but piss her off badly enough that she should hold such a tremendous grudge for all these years." Gibbs made a slight face as he heard the "tsk tsk" tone in Ducky's voice. "I don't know, Duck." He sighed.

"Surely Anthony and Timothy will realize that you're missing, and let's not forget Ziva... And I know that Mr. Palmer gets involved in his work at times, but even he can't remain oblivious to my absence forever."

"Didn't he have a date with McGee's sister tonight?" Gibbs had a questioning tone in his voice.

Ducky groaned and sighed. Maybe Jimmy _could_ remain oblivious. But even so, he allowed himself the small hope that his usually trusty assistant M.E. would come to the realization sooner or later that nobody took a coffee break that lasted _that_ long. Not even Jethro Gibbs.

"Our people are good at what they do, Jethro. Why, I'd be willing to bet that they'll come riding in on their white horses at any moment now, to rescue us."

"Tony doesn't like horses, Duck. And McGee is probably allergic. If Ziva rides a horse like she drives a car…"

"Well, then, Mr. Glass-half-empty. It's a good thing that at least _one_ of us has faith in them." Ducky sounded almost huffy.

The two men lapsed into a silence, and soon enough, Gibbs allowed himself a small smile and eyeroll, as he heard a soft snoring beside him.

……………………………………………………………………

"Surprise!" Abby said, a decidedly happy tone in her voice. Tim's face lit up as he saw his wife and daughter enter the squad room through the elevator doors. He grinned broadly as Abby handed the baby to him, and took her back to his desk to sit down with her.

"Abby, you didn't happen to see Ducky today, did you?" Tony asked, only halfway distracted by Caitlin's arrival with her mother.

Abby shook her head. "Uh, no… I haven't seen Ducky since Tuesday night. Sorry. Why?"

Tim tore his attention away from the baby long enough to say, "He's been gone on a three hour coffee break. He left with Gibbs."

Ziva looked up. "And they didn't even realize it until now." Tony made a face at the Mossad Officer, and she returned it by sticking out her tongue and crossing her eyes.

"Jimmy called up about 5 minutes ago from Autopsy to report Ducky missing. We're trying to track them down on their phones, but no luck."

"Jimmy didn't realize it for three hours, either?" Abby shook her head.

"I suppose autopsy takes some intense concentration... But he's gotta look up from the body _once_ in a while, to stretch his neck. Surely he'd look at the clock then."

"Not necessarily, Tony," Tim pointed out. "He's got a date with Jasmine tonight. He's in oblivious mode today. Work and play. No time to notice anything in between." Abby made a face. "You're one to talk, Timmy," she winked. Tim shook his head and blushed slightly.

"I think we should take this to the lab," Ziva finally said. "Perhaps we can trace them with their cell phones."

Abby grinned, as she turned to lead the way to the lab. She didn't need to be asked twice.


	4. Following the Brew

**Chapter 4 – Following the Brew**

Jimmy Palmer met the others in the lab, quickly and willingly relieving Abby of her small charge. Tim smiled briefly at him, gratitude reflected in his eyes. "Thanks, "Uncle" Jimmy," he said quickly, as he headed towards one of Abby's lab computers.

"I'm all caught up in autopsy, until Dr. Mallard returns," Jimmy shrugged. "I thought maybe I could help here."

Tony and Ziva quickly set up shop at one of the other computers. "Now, how do you turn this thing on again?" Tony teased, a gleam in his eyes. Abby glared at him briefly, then rolled her eyes at him. "You wiggle the mouse." Tony winked at her, then proceeded to launch the GPS tracking program.

"Jimmy, you got Ducky's cell number?" Jimmy turned his attention from Caitlin, over to Tony. "Yeah, lemme think a second… uh… 555-1909." Tony's fingers tapped the keys of the keyboard, then he waited as the tracking program went to work. He frowned at the screen suddenly. "Now, this can't be right," he muttered. Tim raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong?"

"According to this, Ducky's in the building. General direction of Autopsy." They glanced at Jimmy, who only gave them a shrug and a helpless look. "Maybe he forgot his phone? I'll go check," he said, turning to leave. "C'mon Caitlin," he whispered to the dozing baby resting against his shoulder. "Let's go for a little walk." Abby smiled at him as he exited through the doors. "He looks good with a baby in his arms," she observed, "just like you do, Hon." Tim's eyes shone briefly as he glanced at his wife, and he shook his head slightly and smiled softly. "Gibbs' phone definitely isn't in this building," he said, turning his attention back to the computer screen in front of him.

"Looks like he's just a few blocks away, according to this," he continued. "But that can't be right. It's in the opposite direction of his usual coffee shop."

Abby took on a thoughtful look. "Maybe he and Duckman decided to try somewhere new? Isn't there a new little coffee shop in the area his phone is saying he's at?"

Tony studied McGee's screen. "Yeah, there is. Remember, Probie, we stopped there one night after work? They make a kickass latte."

Tim nodded. "That, they do. It's a little place, a bit out of the way. I think you were hiding from Faith. Crib shopping, I think it was."

Tony cringed slightly. "Yeah, it was. She did fine on her own, by the way. What do I know about buying a crib, anyway?" Abby made a face at him, disapprovingly. Tony blushed and turned back to Tim. "It's a privately owned shop, if I remember right. Not a chain, like Starbucks."

"Oh, HEY," Abby said, suddenly. "I know the place you mean! Tim, you took me there, on the way home from the hospital, with Caitlin. My first caffeine hit after she was born. Manna from heaven, I tell ya. I can't believe I forgot it was there." Her bright green eyes took on a slightly dreamy look. Tim's eyes grew wide with surprise as his phone suddenly rang.

He looked at the display. "Looks like Ducky?" he said, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Agent McGee," he answered, cordially. Tony sighed heavily as he glanced at the doorway, and saw a rather unhappy and quite worried looking Jimmy Palmer, a baby in one arm, and a cell phone in his free hand, held to his ear.

"Guess where Dr. Mallard _isn't_," he said into the phone. Tim turned his gaze towards the door. "Damnit," he muttered, as he pushed the end button on his phone.

"I'll go check out the coffee shop. Oh, hey, I know why Gibbs might have gone there," Tony said suddenly. Tim and Abby glanced at him questioningly. Jimmy's brows furrowed slightly, then he nodded in comprehension. "Doesn't Agent Gibbs have a thing for redheads?" Tony winked. "Yup. The proprietor is a redhead. Older lady, maybe Gibbs' age." His eyebrows waggled slightly. "I'd better go with him," Ziva said, as she swung her head in that way she had, that indicated either frustration, or resignation, depending on the situation. Tim and Abby shared a look, shaking their heads, something that didn't escape Tony's notice. "Hey, I'm married, I'm not dead," he said, defensively. Jimmy grinned at him sweetly. "Better not let Faith hear you talking like that, or that "not dead" part can change fairly quickly. I can get you a great deal on an autopsy though." Jimmy couldn't help himself from winking.

"Point taken, Palmer," Tony said, as he and Ziva left the lab.


	5. Collateral Duckage

**Chapter 5 – Collateral Duckage**

"Okay, now we've got him. What are we gonna do with him?" one of the women said.

The first one shrugged. "Dunno. As I recall, the wine didn't last long enough for us to figure that out."

"Mmmmmmm… slow torture comes to mind," the third one said, dreamily."

"What did he DO to you, anyway?" one of them asked, eyes wide.

"It's not what he DID, it's what he DIDN'T do. He wasn't married to me, so much as his damned job."

"Ditto, sister," the other two said, not quite in unison.

"We still need to figure out what to do with Ducky. He never did anything to us, in fact, I seem to remember he was very supportive of me." The other two glanced at her and nodded in agreement. "I feel kinda bad about involving Ducky in this. If anything, he was on OUR side when Jethro was being a bastard."

"Ducky always was a gentleman," one of them said, smiling. "Maybe we can find some way of letting him go? I'm pretty sure he doesn't know where he is. If we can, you know, knock him out again, we can get him out of here and he'd be none the wiser."

"Oh, honey, Ducky has ALWAYS been wise. But no doubt his assistant is missing him. What was his name? Gerald?" The first one took on a thoughtful look as she thought a moment. "No, I seem to remember reading in the papers that Gerald was shot in some kind of hostage taking in the morgue at NCIS. Some terrorist was behind it, I think. I don't even know if Ducky has an assistant now."

……………………………………………………………………………

"Damn."

Ziva rolled her eyes and swung her head again. "Since when does Gibbs leave his cell phone behind?" She and Tony were confused, and frustrated.

"Gibbs never was a fan of technology. But even he wouldn't do that," Tony said. They looked around hopefully. "I don't see either of them, Tony," Ziva said, frowning. "Perhaps you should check the men's room."

Tony sighed with resignation as he turned towards the bathrooms. Ziva looked around, going from table to table, trying to appear inconspicuous as she searched for clues. She stopped suddenly as she thought she saw something. She waited for Tony to return, studying that which had just caught her eye.

Was that dried foam on Gibbs' cellphone?

Gibbs drank his coffee black - he did not abide by fluffy coffee. And Ducky drank tea. She waited for Tony to return, giving him a few extra minutes, in case he'd had to use the facilities, and only when a few too extra minutes had passed without his return, did she realize that something was definitely wrong.


	6. Now We Are Three

**Chapter 6 – Now We Are Three**

"Ziva, what do you mean he's missing?"

Tim wasn't exactly unaccustomed to speaking in a confused tone, but he hadn't been doing it nearly as often as he used to, of late.

"He went into the men's room to look for Gibbs, and he didn't come out. Hang on, McGee, I'm going in…"

Tim rolled his eyes heavenward and glanced helplessly at Abby as he listened into the phone. As he would have expected, masculine-sounding background protests were soon heard as Ziva boldly went where no woman was meant to go.

"Damnit. Tim, he's not in here. Now what?"

"Do you want me to come down there?" Tim didn't relish the idea, but an Agent had to do what an Agent had to do, sometimes.

"No, thank you Tim. I'll look for him, try to find some clue as to his whereabouts. If I find out he went bootie shopping…"

Tim started a moment. "Booty shopping? OH, you mean, _bootie_ shopping. _Baby_ booties. No, he wouldn't do that on the job. Bring back what you've got and we'll see what we can do. Abby's trying to get a lock on his cellphone as we speak."

He looked over at his wife, whose green eyes were staring intently at the computer screen, as she concentrated on finding their friend and colleague.

……………………………………………………………………………

Tony stirred awake and brought his hand to his face, rubbing it and moaning with the headache that seemed to be threatening to split his skull in two.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up," he heard a familiar voice say.

"Now, Jethro, the boy has obviously been through an ordeal," he heard another familiar voice scold gently.

Tony opened his eyes. Man, his head hurt so bad… Oh, God, he was gonna die… no wait… Oh, God, no, he was gonna live… and no, he wasn't dreaming. He really was in an enclosed, dark space, with Gibbs and Ducky.

"No more than we have, Duck," Gibbs pointed out. Tony blinked a few times. "Boss? Ducky?" he asked, confused, his tongue feeling like cotton, and his own voice seeming a million miles away.

"And now, we are three…" Ducky muttered, as he sat back, tired and resigned.

……………………………………………………………………………

Abby and Tim looked up as Ziva breezed back into the lab. "I have no idea where Tony got to, but I have this," she said, handing over the plastic bag in her hand. Abby took it with a look of curiosity, glancing briefly to Tim and Jimmy. "Gibbs' phone," Ziva said, flatly. Tim took the phone from Abby as she offered it up, and looked at it closely, squinting. "Is that what I think it is?" Jimmy walked over, still holding a contented and sleeping Caitlin against his shoulder. He took the bag from Tim with his free hand, and studied it. "Looks… bubbly?"

"Foam," Ziva said. "Foamed milk. It was a coffee shop… but Gibbs doesn't…"

"Drink fluffy coffee," Abby said. "And Ducky drinks…" she said, as Jimmy looked at her and continued, "Tea. You don't top tea with foamed milk. Is there a viable fingerprint in that?" he asked, squinting slightly, trying to get a better look at it.

Tim shrugged and took it from Jimmy's offering hand. "I think… maybe… we could try, anyway. Can't hurt. Worst case, the powder gets into the circuits and Gibbs requisitions a new phone. Which he was almost due for anyway, by the looks of this," he said, with a sigh. He just couldn't understand such utter disregard for technology.

"Abs?" he asked, handing the phone back to Abby.

She smiled at him. "Watch, and learn, Timmy," she said smugly, as she took it over to the table.


	7. Counting on McGee

**Chapter 7 – Counting on McGee**

Tony and Gibbs would deny it vehemently later on, but at the moment, Ducky's assessment that the two Agents were pouting was dead on.

"What would Abigail call this? A pity party?" The phrase sounded odd coming from Ducky, with his distinguished English brogue.

Tony looked at Ducky and frowned. "Yeah, so, what's your point?" He brought his hand up, almost involuntarily, to rub his temple.

Gibbs, instead of pouting outright, had taken on a brooding sort of sulk. "We need to figure out how to get the hell out of here," he said. He ignored the dirty look he got from his companions, his reward for overstating the obvious.

"With all do respect, Boss… how exactly do you propose we do that? You and Ducky have been in here for… how long now?" Ducky sighed. "Anthony does have a valid point, Jethro. Perhaps we need to wait until our next companion joins us, and then strike to escape."

"Our next companion? Ducky, what makes you think there's gonna be someone else joining us?"

"Because, Jethro, Anthony joined us when he was caught trying to find us. And your team are like bloodhounds when they get on the scent. Yes, Jethro… I believe Timothy will be joining us eventually."

Tony snorted. "That figures, OW, hey, what was that for?" he protested, as Gibbs slapped the back of his head smartly. "My ex-wives have just committed all sorts of felonies here, including administering a noxious substance, assault, kidnapping, unlawful confinement… I don't need a reason, DiNozzo. I'm allowed to be a little bit cranky."

"Well, why McGee, and not Ziva?" Ducky raised an eyebrow and a finger, both in Tony's direction. "Because, Anthony, Ziva was with you when you were taken, was she not?" Tony nodded affirmatively. "These women aren't interested in taking women. If they were, they'd have taken Ziva along with you and we'd have her with us right now."

Gibbs nodded thoughtfully. "Good point, Ducky." Tony glanced at his boss, noting that he looked tired, and for the first time since he'd met him, Tony thought that Gibbs seemed unsure of how to proceed in their current predicament.

"Timothy and Abigail are probably working with Ziva right now to find us, and I'm sure that by now, Jimmy has joined them in their search. They'll find us, Jethro, mark my words. But we may be joined by another before this is over with."

……………………………………………………………………………

"Maybe I should join them," Tim said, thoughtfully. He was met with two sets of green eyes, and one set of brown, glaring at him like he'd just said he was running away to join the circus, but not until after he'd had gender reassignment surgery.

"Tim, I don't think so." Abby looked at him squarely, then nodded towards their sleeping daughter, still slumbering against Uncle Jimmy's shoulder.

He glanced over to Jimmy, who levelled a steady gaze at him. "I don't think so either. Jasmine would kill me for letting you do that. I mean, it's not like I have anything to do with it or could stop you, but you know how she is. Anyway I can think of another reason for you not to do that." He brought his free hand up to gently stroke Caitlin's baby-soft hair.

Last resort. He gazed over at Ziva, in that endearing, brotherly way he had developed with the rest of the team, save, of course, for Abby. Tim McGee had an entirely different way of gazing at Abby…

"Leave me out of this, Tim," Ziva said, backing away slightly. "If anyone should join them, it should be me. I have no family and therefore, nothing to lose."

"Oh, Ziva, I beg to differ," Abby protested with a frown. She moved over to the Israeli woman and draped a sisterly arm around her. "We're your family. But if they were gonna take you, they would've taken you with Tony. I don't think they're interested in women."

They had no way of knowing that Abby had just echoed Ducky's words.

……………………………………………………………………………

"What's taking McGee so long?" Tony complained. He glanced over at Ducky, who had dozed off. Gibbs looked at his oldest Agent and simply shrugged. "Probably Abby and Ziva have him on a chain, or something."

"Oh, come on Boss, since when does that stop McGee from getting his way? A few years ago I could see that, but Probie's grown a pair since then."

"Well, Tony, Abby wasn't a mother back then either. We're talking about her Baby Girl's daddy, here. I'm sure they'll think of something. In the meantime, we just have to wait. There's nothing we can do from here. Trust me, I know these women. Now is not the time to fight back."

Tony snorted. "That may be, but you just watch, Boss. He'll figure something out."

"Indeed, Anthony," Ducky mumbled, as he stirred awake.


	8. Jimmy Has a Plan

**Chapter 8 – Jimmy Has a Plan**

"Jimmy, I don't know about this," Abby said, nervously. Tim glanced at his almost-brother-in-law, and grinned triumphantly. Swinging Palmer to his side hadn't been that hard, he just had to convince him that he'd talk to Jasmine for him. Timothy McGee knew his baby sister and knew his way around her moods – he'd successfully navigated his way around them for nearly 25 years, now.

Abby and Ziva, now they were a tougher sell. "The GPS in the glasses should work, obviously we can't rely on the GPS in my phone," Tim said, as he put them on. "Well, how do I look?"

"All you need is your turtleneck and you really would look like an English professor," Ziva said, admiringly. "Now, you've got my backup weapon?"

Tim put his foot on a chair and hiked up his pant leg. "Right here."

"Holy cow," Abby suddenly said. "Guys, check this out. The owner of that coffee shop, the one with a portal into the next dimension that keeps sucking our people up… it's owned by a woman from Gibbs' past. One of his ex-wives." The group walked en-masse over to where Abby was doing a computer search on the coffee shop. "Well, that explains… pretty much everything," Jimmy commented, to nobody in particular.

"Hey, do they know that Duckman has a new assistant? I mean, you're clearly not new, Jims, but… maybe new to them?"

"Abby, if anything happens to Palmer, my sister will kill me. Slowly. Does drawn and quartered mean anything to you?" Tim was clearly apprehensive about what his wife was suggesting.

"Hey, if it means helping to get Dr. Mallard back, I'm up for it. You're right, I'm a pretty obscure member of this team. I doubt they'd know who I am. They might know Tim, though." Jimmy seemed more than willing to try, in spite of Tim's hesitation.

"Hmmm… were you transferred from Norfolk before, or after, Gibbs' last divorce was finalized?" Ziva asked, curiously.

"Well after the fact," Tim answered her, thinking. "So, they might not know who I am, either. Jimmy, you up for this?"

"All for one, one for all, and hopefully, if we're careful… not five for five," he said, with a shrug. "Anyway, I've got an idea…"

……………………………………………………………………………

The woman behind the counter looked up by force of habit, as the doors to her coffee shop opened. She watched a vaguely familiar tall young man with short, sandy hair enter, and choose a seat.

She searched her memory briefly, trying to remember where she'd seen him before, but came up empty, until she approached him and he ordered a latte.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you look so familiar, I just can't place you," she said with a warm smile and a sheepish giggle. Timothy McGee looked at her cautiously, shaking his head. "I think I was here with my wife several months ago. We were on our way home from the hospital with our newborn daughter." The red-haired woman shook her head, only vaguely remembering this young man. "Grande or regular?" she finally asked, giving up on her sketchy memory. Tim smiled again, "Grande, please. Thank you. Oh, and could you put that in a take-out cup, please?" The woman nodded politely, as he thanked her, then sat back and waited.

He watched in his peripheral vision as the door opened again, and another young man entered. Tim saw the woman look up again, towards the entrance, as she watched Jimmy Palmer approach the counter with a picture in his hand.

"Uh, excuse me, Ma'am, could you tell me if you've seen this gentleman in here?" Tim reached up and pretended to scratch his head as he adjusted the ear piece he wore. He carefully observed as the woman tried unsuccessfully to hide a look of brief alarm. "I'm sorry, Sir, I don't think I have. I see a lot of customers in one day, I'm sure you understand." Jimmy nodded, regretfully. "I see," he said, turning around. Right on cue, he locked eyes with Tim for a brief split second, and then turned back to the woman. "Could you tell me where the men's room is, Ma'am?"

Tim took out his phone and pretended to talk into it, as he spoke to Abby through the wire. "Got a lock on him, Abs? He's in position. I think she's suspicious enough to take him."

"Stand by, Babe… Yeah, I've got him, he's locked and loaded. Ziva's watching you. The camera in Jimmy's glasses is operational, as well. You guys are cleared for take-off," he heard her giggle briefly.

Tim reached up and fiddled with something behind his ear, pretending to adjust the glasses he himself wore. "Palmer, she take the bait?"

Jimmy turned to look at his general direction, and reached up to scratch his nose. Tim smiled. "He's ready, Abs," he whispered, as he pushed a button on his phone. He managed to close it just in time for his order to arrive.

Quietly, he sat and waited, and watched as Jimmy disappeared into the men's room. "Next dimension, here he comes," he muttered to himself, under his breath.


	9. Tony's Trail of Crumbs

**Chapter 9 – Tony's Trail of Crumbs**

"Palmer, what are you doing here?" Tony asked, dismayed, as they were joined by another companion. "And why the hell aren't you McGee?"

"Now, Tony," Jimmy said, almost soothingly, holding up a hand. "Relax. The situation is well in hand." The young man glanced at Ducky, who seemed somewhat perplexed that it was Jimmy who had joined them next, rather than Timothy, whom he had been absolutely _sure_ would be the Terrible Trio's next victim. Gibbs looked on, curiously, wondering what half-baked, hair-brained scheme his remaining agents, his forensics specialist, and Ducky's assistant M.E. had cooked up.

Jimmy glanced at Gibbs, then pointed to his glasses, then signed the letters "GPS." Gibbs' crystal blue eyes sparkled. "I knew it," he said, smugly. "Whose idea was it?" Jimmy grinned proudly. "All of us. Abby, Ziva, Tim, myself. The only one who didn't have input was Caitlin. She was too busy drooling on my shoulder."

"Who brought you here, my dear boy, if you don't mind my asking?" Ducky seemed curious, relieved, grateful, and protectively concerned, all at the same time.

"Some red-haired woman. Owns the coffee shop. Quite a looker, for someone so…" he trailed off, noting the hairy-eyeball he was receiving from Gibbs. "Someone so mature." Tony snorted and snickered to himself. "Jimmy, my favourite little Autopsy Gremlin, I knew I liked you for a reason… so tell me, what plan have you guys cooked up to get us out of this predicament?"

Jimmy settled back, stretching his long legs as best he could in the cramped quarters, then filled them in on the plan.

……………………………………………………………………………

"Hah!" Abby cried, triumphantly. Ziva looked at her, brown eyes sparkling. "What have you found, Abby?"

"That fingerprint, the partial in the foam on Gibbs' cellphone, I got a match. Or a pretty probable one, anyway. We were right, it's one of his ex-wives. Guess she's got one hell of a grudge going on."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Ziva pointed out, "You just remember that, Little One," she said to Caitlin, slumbering peacefully against her shoulder. Ziva turned as the phone rang, and watched as Abby reached over and picked up. "Got a lock on Jimmy?" Tim asked, from the other end of the line. Abby motioned Ziva to go over to the computer that was being used to track the two men, then put him on speaker phone. Ziva smiled then turned, giving Abby an affirmative thumbs-up. "Got him, he's three miles away, I'll navigate for you, Timmy. If you get lost, I'll send Ziva to come get you." She winked over at the Mossad officer. Ziva might have been many wonderful things, and her adjustment to American culture might have finally become smoother, but she was still a scarier driver than Gibbs could ever dream of being.

"Hang on, Abs… what the hell is this?"

Abby waited on the line for Tim to return to the conversation, listening as she heard the crunch of gravel under the slow-moving wheels. He sounded like he'd practically brought the car to a crawl. "That sly bugger. There's a trail of some kind here. Tony left a trail of crumbs. Or more specifically, his favourite pen, his PDA, his library card, his driver's licence…"

"Since when does Tony have a library card?" Abby asked, sceptically. "Sorry, babe. I'm off topic again, aren't I. A trail, huh? We're tracking you right now, and you're right on course."

Tim stopped the car suddenly. The trail ended there, he was across the street from a rather ordinary, but very well maintained looking house with some spendy looking landscaping, and according to Abby and Ziva, he was right where he was supposed to be.

……………………………………………………………………………

"Jimmy, is there a window where you are? Abby says I'm right outside the house." Tim was in the car, trying to avoid looking suspicious, in case the woman responsible for this mess was still home, after dropping off her latest prize.

Palmer glanced around, then said, "Did you guys happen to notice a window, or something, in here?" Gibbs glanced around. "This used to be my bathroom. She converted it with her first alimony cheque. The window was right up there, but it's obviously covered now. Jimmy, hand me that wire, please." Palmer didn't question as he passed the small communication device over to him.

"I wonder how good the workmanship is," Tony wondered, as he stood up and started rapping the wall with his knuckles. Gibbs seemed to think hard for a moment. "McGee, what side of the house are you on right now?"

There was silence for a moment as Tim got his bearings outside. "In front. West, I believe."

"Yeah, that'd be west. Move to the south side of the house. That's where the bathroom window used to be. See if you can locate where it was. It should be about 6 feet over from the north east corner."

They waited a moment, Tony studying the wall, and Ducky talking quietly with Jimmy. "I think I see it, Boss," Tim said, as Gibbs smiled, satisfied. "There's a slight difference in the colouration of the siding. There's a patch that appears to be a few years newer than the rest of the house, and there are seams where the new siding has been joined to the older material."

"Good work, Tim," Gibbs said. "Now, look directly below that, there should be a basement window, but it may be obscured by the plants she's got there. See if you can get in from there." Again, Gibbs waited a moment, while he heard the sounds of his young agent jostling around outside, testing the window. "It's open, Boss. Sort've. It opens a few inches, but it's seized up from something, I'm guessing paint, and rust, and probably soil from the flower bed, too."

"Well, use the DiNozzo Method, McGee," Gibbs said, sounding frustrated at having to overstate the obvious.

"DiNozzo method, Boss?" Tim sounded confused for a moment, then understanding quickly struck. "Ah, I get it." Gibbs listened as heard a thud, and the sound of breaking glass. "The DiNozzo Method. Works every time," Tony said, winking.

Outside, Tim contacted Abby. "Abs, honey, I'm at the house, I'm going in through a basement window. I'll check in with you in 10 minutes, but if you don't hear from me, send Ziva."

Back in the lab, Abby shared a look with Ziva. "Copy that, Very Special Agent McGee," she said, tossing her empty caf-pow and taking the fresh one from Ziva's offering free hand. "Tim, how are the others?" Ziva asked, concerned.

"Impatient, but otherwise fine. Jimmy did a great job of getting himself abducted."

"Well, our other guys didn't do such a half-assed job of it either," Abby pointed out, grinning briefly at Ziva. "Yes, Abby, but they didn't do it on purpose," Ziva commented. "Tim, I'm on standby if you need me. That woman won't know what hit her if she hurts my… oops, sorry, Abby – I mean, _our_ guys."

"Ziva, you can head over here now, regardless. I'm in the basement, I'm heading upstairs. My weapon is drawn, and I need backup before I can open this door."

……………………………………………………………………………

"Damnit," the woman swore to her companions. "I just remembered who that tall young sandy blonde man was, in the shop. He's one of Jethro's people. Mackey, Mickey, McGee, McFee… something like that. He arrived less than a year after Kate Todd did. And his wife, the woman with the dark pigtails, that's Abby, the lab rat. They were in the shop several months ago. Adorable baby."

"Doesn't matter now, anyway, who he is," one of her accomplices said, "what's done is done."

"I still feel bad about Ducky," the third one said. "He's such a sweetheart. I know he gave Jethro a piece of his mind on our behalf, on more than one occasion. He was always on our side. He didn't deserve any of this."

"What about the other two?" the first one asked. "Tony, and that other young man. I didn't know Ducky had a new assistant. Clearly Gerald isn't there anymore."

"His name is Jimmy Palmer," a cold, accented voice said, from behind. The three women turned around slowly, and were met with the steely gaze of a slender, darkly beautiful woman, with waving, slightly unruly curls in her hair, and an impossibly big gun in her small feminine hands. "You appear to know the others well enough."

Ziva grinned wickedly, as Gibbs, Tony, and Tim came up from behind her, weapons drawn.Tim took out his phone with his free hand, hitting the speed dial. "Abs, we've got them. Nice work, hon."

"We've got you on several counts of several things, Debra," Gibbs said smoothly. "Kidnapping, administering a noxious substance, assault, unlawful confinement… I'm sure we can get all of you on conspiracy to commit a felony, too. And yes, we do happen to have video footage of you taking Mr. Palmer, here."

"That bastard," was all the group of busted, red-haired women was heard muttering.


End file.
